


Illegally Defaced Currency

by agalaxywithinyou



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkwardness, First Meeting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 09:14:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6698902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agalaxywithinyou/pseuds/agalaxywithinyou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico is really awkward when it comes to serving hot customers, and Will thinks it's adorable.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Illegally Defaced Currency

**Author's Note:**

> This is a lil' something I wrote _ages _ago, but never got around to posting. All my mistakes are my own. Hope you enjoy! :)__

Nico gets an odd look for what feels like the hundredth time that day.

He knows why, of course. Standing by the register, a glum look on his gaunt face, dark hair looking as if he has just climbed out of bed, he must be the most unamused employee any of the customers have ever seen. They can’t blame him, though. It isn’t exactly the most glamorous job, pays well, but he would much rather be lazing around in his apartment.

A woman walks up, orders an iced drink that he didn’t even know they sold, and gives him another one of those stares as she waits; like he should be out on the streets grafting walls and causing mayhem rather than manning the till in a mediocre coffee shop. He ignores it.

Twisting the ring on his finger he lets his gaze wander; over the booths and tables and resting occupants of the room, the large glass front that gives the sense that the building is larger than it actually is. He doesn’t realise that there is someone standing in front of him until they speak up.

“Hey.”

Nico jerks his gaze up, finds that the speaker is young, male, with a mop of blonde hair, tanned complexion, and blue eyes that glimmer with amusement. He’s leaning on the counter nonchalantly, looking annoyingly at ease and studying him instead of the list of drinks hanging above.

And because of that, Nico can’t talk for a moment. He’s so accustomed to frowns, apathetic greetings or simply stony silence that all he can do is stare. A few moments pass before he can stutter out a few words and manage a pathetic smile. “W–what can I get you?”

He can already feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment, which the boy notices and seems to find awfully amusing. Nico can see him smothering a grin as he studies the list of drinks above.

“Still deciding. But nice day outside, isn’t?”

Oh man, now he’s trying to make conversation. This would be much easier if the boy was just another unappealing business person, but instead he’s rather attractive and making Nico feel like an absolute idiot. “Yeah,” he says, glancing outside at the relatively sound weather, “it is.”

The boy flashes him a quick look. “Must be kinda boring though, stuck in here all day.”

“I get by.”

“That’s good. What time do you get off?”

Uh oh. Maybe this’d be less embarrassing if he had a paper bag over his head. “Um, about five.”

“Sweet. I’ll get a medium latte, by the way. Take away.”

“Sure. That’ll be four dollars.”

Nico accepts the few crumpled bills he drops into his hand and jabs his fingers against the keys of the register, hoping that his cheeks aren’t as red as they feel. He glances up and finds the boy still standing there, lips quirked into that same smile.

“Your drink should be ready in a couple of minutes.”

“Thanks,” he says, pausing to read the nametag clipped to his shirt, “Nico. I’m Will, by the way.”

“Will,” Nico repeats, then averts his gaze as he realises that he sounds like an absolute idiot. Again. At this point he just wants to hit his head against the coffee machine. _Why do I always fuck up around the hot ones?_

“What was that?” the boy asks, eyes crinkling slightly, and Nico realises that he must have spoken out loud. Y’know that intense feeling of embarrassment Nico was feeling? Yeah, in that moment there, it just about doubled.

Nico shakes his head in reply, and is saved by someone down the counter calling “Latte for Will!” He goes forward to collect his drink, and Nico leans with his back against the counter with a weary sigh. So when a voice from behind him says, “Hey, would you mind a tip?” he nearly jumps in surprise.

He spins and finds Will before him once again, halfway through opening his wallet with a brow raised in questioning.

“Um, I mean, yeah,” he mumbles, attempting a smile, “no. No, I wouldn’t mind.”

That grin resurfaces, and Will tugs a pen out of his back pocket and scribbles something on the bill before cramming it in the designated jar. “Thanks, Nico.”

“You’re the one tipping me for doing nothing,” he says quietly, smiling nervously. “I’m the one meant to be saying thank you.”

Will scoffs, walking backwards as he speaks. “I’ve got a nice cup of coffee and you’re really cute – that deserves a thanks. Have a nice day!”

And with that he shoulders open the door and leaves, and Nico is left with a slack jaw and bright red cheeks.

A few moments pass before he snatches the dollar bill from the jar and peers at it, and there, scrawled on the back in black pen, is a phone number.

He laughs quietly, no longer caring that he looks like an idiot with bright red cheeks and mussed hair, but amused by the fact that Will has illegally defaced currency to give him his number.

Nico is, of course, going to call him the minute his shift ends.


End file.
